DuPuis Family Cobra Build

denverpilot said:
Found you a fuse for that electric fan, Ted.
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Ah, the 1000A no blow fuse!
 
Today's video, on what I'm second guessing:

 
I haven't touched the Cobra in a long time. Projects on the RV before the last big trip, now some more projects before going to 6Y9, kids starting school... there just hasn't been bandwidth. But today I had a few spare minutes and so I decided to do something that was long overdue and drive it from the garage into the shop:

get_hangouts_attachment_url


It was only driving it maybe 250 feet total, but it was still very cool to feel and do. I didn't drive it fast at all, of course, but I did move enough to see the speedometer does work, something that I was concerned about. So now I'll just have to calibrate it so that it has the correct number. That will be something for whenever I do the first drive or some subsequent drive. That won't be today, but with it in the shop, maybe I'll be able to work on it more.
 
Ted said:
I haven't touched the Cobra in a long time. Projects on the RV before the last big trip, now some more projects before going to 6Y9, kids starting school... there just hasn't been bandwidth. But today I had a few spare minutes and so I decided to do something that was long overdue and drive it from the garage into the shop:

get_hangouts_attachment_url


It was only driving it maybe 250 feet total, but it was still very cool to feel and do. I didn't drive it fast at all, of course, but I did move enough to see the speedometer does work, something that I was concerned about. So now I'll just have to calibrate it so that it has the correct number. That will be something for whenever I do the first drive or some subsequent drive. That won't be today, but with it in the shop, maybe I'll be able to work on it more.
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A Ferrari banner hanging over a Shelby? Boo!
 
asicer said:
A Ferrari banner hanging over a Shelby? Boo!
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Well, the Shelby is lighter, faster, and if those don't it's also nastier. ;)
 
Half Fast said:
Yeah, but it’s not a racecar. Any Wankel noise yet?

:)
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My son was asking “WHEN ARE WE FINALLY GOING TO WORK ON THE RACECAR?!?!” :)

Now that the Cobra is out of the garage (thus freeing up the garage for my wife’s cars, which has been a holdup), I think I’m going to roll the RX-7 into the shop soon. Then it will start receiving the attention it deserves. :)
 
If it wasn't for that day job, you could get to work in a hurry.
 
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Christ… get I’d done!!
Very few people have the skill to do what you are doing.
Please finish it!!
Not sure what else to say.

I wish I had the knowledge to do what you are doing. Basically I call an electrician to replace a light bulb.
 
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Kritchlow said:
Christ… get I’d done!!
Very few people have the skill to do what you are doing.
Please finish it!!
Not sure what else to say.

I wish I had the knowledge to do what you are doing. Basically I call an electrician to replace a light bulb.
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Someone asked me the other day when I’d have it done if everything went well. I responded “2 years ago.”

The RV really has taken most of my wrenching time this past year, but it never broke down on us which means I didn’t do too badly. Now that the RV trips are more or less “done” (granted I’m still going through projects on it before 6Y9 and have other projects coming on it, but the list is decreasing), and with the Cobra in the shop and the kids in normal school again, I should be able to start making better progress on it.
 
One interesting observation that I’d not looked for before but noticed yesterday. When I turned off the engine, it just went off immediately. No additional rotation or anything, just compression stroke and stop. So it seems like all my efforts at a lightweight (and responsive) rotating assembly have done what I wanted. If it stops that quickly, it’ll also rev and respond very quickly.
 
It's been a while since I played around with the Cobra, but yesterday I got to spend some time in the shop painting the side pipes and installing them. These were standard mild steel rather than the polished/stainless ones that Factory Five offers for a significant upcharge. Since I knew my plan would be to go with the all-black method, I put some exhaust paint on with a clear coat. They look sharp!

Also drilled and welded the bung for the O2 sensor on the driver's side pipe. In a perfect world, one would do multiple O2 sensors, but I don't care that much. I'm going to run the thing rich of peak anyway and I don't care about fuel economy.

October 1st will be 3 years since I took delivery, and it would be really fun if I could get it to first drive by then. But I think the reality is that likely won't happen.
 
Managed to piddle on a couple of things this evening. For one, I got the driver's side sidepipe on, so now the exhaust is almost complete. I still have to drill the mounts for the side pipes to the frame, which support them midway.

AMSf6AEu-oGy7RvfQJHkfXOKtqp7EAtlyDVUo4QK7lKt-7OEaWP91BK2mqL9biqCa_Bp_crHMBbnyApgNuAk5vcSPHFMB70pFBZf3Dp34VQDbDy_OhMbf0sJOu0oPEL7IECEuJKuGTRq0wc4NJv5RZiAu5S3BX92H0DhrdgS1DRFkUjRtj2pvM4Aa7nLvRgwymvEO76yWBnvY_wBjfGSn02yIFEZFd1wZ9nj0XXrpXUiXwMA7f7HKqOJcz2WvFJ-NX9ACcqfsRbLp16Uyv-l_xsKLhlshclyweybco6l1qY64o9xrTDb4Iq-vS_3dVhxPG9AYNSmiyIsMnpfSPULF3dZmo3WzAFZeB5REKyGxmMU5gtpKW1D4OAZ-P19ICd_R_SiLq_fBfdkM6u0BL3Fonnt7f_43Xb_cyQt-VKdT-cfiVNmhYZBP2TmQtIvPfdJg9Ncj_mII1kwAkqyctCT5h5farIp9N5fwqW2durWEBgXqUdjujBwdn_Oevcz-7-TKvVclaaVXjJYqqamxo05szqhJH5_S0my016XNUAC8Opz2OOvlRlGKXvhlea7oXmU-PaxEnxa3M8U227xKTuhKjzAEaJtP3ni7V4Oygvm9JnLBYa72RfDZWsWPV-vfd3KWvsIHAdWAEWKQq4zQSRcbY9Eexfv4fXEpCDZe8KHIAV4lTIcgWXnxuTHBqe1xx603V1Km5kC2cc8PqceXvQnRoOis8M44EUTKfxP9dCM4vXIe9QNbydKJzylkrNJ2RI_J2fj0IaXzMVFBnhyqTYxmZc1Jmw_9W1H2x_kkpLPNUix4z9-Sjw51THWHj8UJINetSNfMCJ5E9kzDkrNK32mCU4C-blzDZYB2WUqJ5vW471cdwbUkCO-36tSHlOSPCjt-9DLg-_vL4CqJzCJtUSW0FnW1cBe0LFEBG6z37AdJDxsGEA0V131KL7wPpIGIKb9ouG4Sgqr=w1008-h756


I also made the couple of minor modifications to the shift lever. The shift lever that comes with the kit is designed for a standard Mustang T-5, which has the shifter way at the back of the transmission. So to put the shift knob in the "right" position, it's angled about 45 degrees forward. Why they do this makes sense, but it's dumb ergonomically. So one of the things I did was I converted the transmission to a mid-shift kit, which gets the shifter in the "correct" location on the Cobra. However then to make the shifter work, that meant needing to change the angle. I drilled another hole which got it to straight up and down. I then cut the shifter about in half to get to the proper "short throw" height. Next for that I have to figure out what I want for the shift knob. I'll figure that one out.

Looking over the car and what's to come, it's really a lot of details above all else. There's not necessarily a particularly good order for most of it, just a lot of things that simply need to get addressed. Some panels to get riveted in, the AC to finish up (and finally turn on!), finishing up dashboard wiring, and other details. Like I said, really no particularly good order, just a lot of little things that need to get taken care of so that I can drive the car.
 
I really am not a fan of the 8-ball idea for the Cobra.
 
I didn't get to play with the Cobra too much yesterday (my wrenching time was mostly on the RX-7), but I did get the new and improved straight-up-and-down shifter installed, with short throw height. The height on it is good, and I managed to find a good price on my favorite shift knob:

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So I got that coming. I know that will disappoint those who favored the 8-ball, but I really like the Momo Anatomico shift knob.

I really need to get the anchors in for the lift so I can install that in the shop, and then continue to make progress on the Cobra. In the mean time as I'm prepping for first drive I could get the air conditioning up and working to make sure that it works as expected.
 
Ted said:
Fuschia is really my color.
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I used a fuschia tennis ball for the shift knob in my first two cars. A Renault R-10 and a Mercury Capri two liter. Nice size (for me), comfortable and grippy cover and they were cheap.
 
jsstevens said:
I used a fuschia tennis ball for the shift knob in my first two cars. A Renault R-10 and a Mercury Capri two liter. Nice size (for me), comfortable and grippy cover and they were cheap.
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I've tended to always gravitate towards natural materials for things I touch. Leather and wood being my favorites, sometimes some sort of heavier metal being an acceptable replacement. Aluminum is usually too light for things I touch and move.
 
Ted said:
I've tended to always gravitate towards natural materials for things I touch. Leather and wood being my favorites, sometimes some sort of heavier metal being an acceptable replacement. Aluminum is usually too light for things I touch and move.
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Good choice. I had a Momo Mario Andretti steering wheel on my '87 GTI, back when there were no airbags. Momo makes good stuff.

On an open car, I'd disqualify anything made of hard plastic, or especially metal, you're apt to get burned fingers on a sunny day.
 
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Just a note to tell you to blow off the dust from the Cobra and ignore that silly Land Rover project.
 
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SoonerAviator said:
Just a note to tell you to blow off the dust from the Cobra and ignore that silly Land Rover project.
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I actually started the Cobra a couple of times today to move it. I had someone putting up insulation in the shop and he needed to get to that corner. It's been a while since I've started it, and man does it ever sound good. It started right up, no surprise.

I really do need to just go through and get it sorted. For how much I need to do on it to get it to first drive/go karting (which is not much), just need to take a day and get it to first drive so I can start driving it around some.
 
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